Baseball's best quotes of the week

Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist holds his left thumb after dislocating it attempting to steal second base in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on May 14.

Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist holds his left thumb after dislocating it attempting to steal second base in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on May 14. (Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images)

— Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds infielder, to the Dayton Daily News, on Reds ace Johnny Cueto, who has pitched at least seven innings and given up no more than two runs in all nine starts this season. That is the longest such streak in 105 years. Cueto, asked whether he considered himself the best pitcher in baseball: "Definitely, yes."

— Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays infielder, saying he would continue to slide headfirst, with whatever protection he could find. Zobrist dislocated his left thumb Wednesday, on a headfirst slide into second base.

"Maybe it will put the pitcher to sleep."

— Josh Reddick, Oakland Athletics outfielder, to the San Francisco Chronicle, on his latest walk-up song: "Careless Whisper," the agonizingly slow pop ballad released by George Michael in 1984.

From the moment the NBA banned Donald Sterling for life, the big names and their big wallets jostled for position to buy the Clippers. Magic Johnson was in. Oprah Winfrey was in, with fellow billionaires Larry Ellison and David Geffen. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the richest man in L.A., was in. So...

The recent story of Chicago's Jackie Robinson West Little League team, their U.S. title taken away because some of their players lived outside the district they represented, struck a nerve with Phil Hart.